Baby Steps, Leaps of Faith

If you’ve never seen What About Bob? then let me introduce you to Bob Wiley (played by Bill Murray). Bob is an obsessive-compulsive, dependant, neurotic, psychiatric patient with an unending number of phobias including germs, tight spaces, drowning, etc, etc. The movie begins with Bob visiting a new psychiatrist named Dr. Leo Marvin (played by Richard Dreyfuss). Dr. Marvin gives Bob a copy of his popular new book, Baby Steps. Bob then spends the next hour of the movie “baby stepping” everywhere – baby step out of the office, baby step down the hall, baby step on the elevator… You get the idea.

For some reason, that’s how I feel this morning. Lauren and I have been taking baby steps for the last two years. We started unsure if Japan was where God wanted our family. We began with a phone call to the director of international placement for the C&MA; then phone calls, emails, and visits with the field directors from Japan; next a visit to Tokyo; taking the Perspectives course*; a form here and there; and more emails with phone calls mixed in. We still have no idea what the entire process looks like, but each step has moved us a little further along the path.

I’ve started to realize that these baby steps are little leaps of faith, leading us down a road that we were personally unsure of. Yesterday, we, with Finch’s help in pushing the button, submitted the final form required in order to start the official Marketplace Ministries application with the C&MA. A baby step and a leap of faith. Last night, we started talking about what our monthly financial needs would be. Discussing living on a tight budget would be new and challenging for us. Additionally, because of the cost of living in Tokyo, we have a long way to go in raising support. But, baby step and leap of faith.

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Matthew 4:18-22 ESV

Follow me. Throughout the New Testament, Christ repeatedly tells His disciples, “follow me.” He wasn’t looking for part-time people, but radical obedience. Those who would “take up their cross daily,” that love Him over everyone else, willing to lose their life that they might gain it (Luke 14:25-27, Matthew 16:24-25). Yesterday, after we hit submit, we prayed that we would faithfully follow Him – joyfully, in obedience, wherever we’re led, whatever the cost.

We are not at the point of raising financial support, but we can never have too many prayer supporters. We greatly appreciate your prayers as we continue through the application process with Marketplace Ministries. If you’d like to be kept up to date with our status, leave a comment and we’ll make sure you’re in the loop.